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POSTO  RICO— “WHERE  EVERY  PROSPECT  PLEASES” 


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Not  alone  in  the  stress  of 
war,  but  in  times  of  peace  as 
well,  the  Lutheran  Church  fol¬ 
lows  this  glorious  emblem  of 
liberty.  Two  decades  ago, 
when,  after  a  brief  contest  with 
Spain,  the  United  States  found 
itself  with  many  island  wards 
thrust  upon  its  benevolent  keep¬ 
ing,  the  Lutheran  Church  was 
among  the  first  to  follow  the  Stars  and  Stripes  to  Porto 
Rico  that  it  might  assist  in  the  Government’s  reconstruc¬ 
tion  program  by  giving  to  the  people  the  pure  Word  of 
God,  the  greatest  power  in  the  remaking  of  men  that  the 
world  has  ever  known. 

Again,  two  years  ago,  when  the  exigencies  of  the  great 
world  war  compelled  our  Government  to  purchase  the 
Danish  West  Indies  at  a  cost  five  times  that  at  which 
they  had  been  offered  before,  the  American  Lutheran 
Church  was  the  first  to  step  forward  with  an  offer  of 
assistance  to  the  people  thus  brought  under  the  protection 
of  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 

For  almost  a  generation  a  band  of  consecrated  men  and 
women  have  labored  in  PORTO  RICO  with  a  devotion 
hardly  equalled  in  the  modern  missionary  annals  of  our 
Church.  Dealing  with  a  people  as  easy-going  as  the 
climate  is  enervating,  fickle,  worldly,  careless  about  re¬ 
ligion,  but  ignorant,  proud  and  superstitious,  with  an 
equipment  and  working  force  never  equal  to  the  task 
imposed,  our  missionaries  have  bravely  stuck  to  their 
post,  and  now,  today,  with  the  foundation  firmly  laid, 
and  the  opportunity  for  a  forward  movement  never 
greater,  they  are  calling  to  the  Church  to  rally  to  their 
support  and  send  them  the  men  and  the  means  to  erect 
a  superstructure  that  shall  be  worthy  of  the  foundation 
which,  under  God’s  blessing,  was  laid  before  we  were  a 
Untied  Church.  Shall  they  call  in  vain? 


LUTHERAN  CHURCH,  ST.  JOHN,  VIRGIN  ISLANDS 


Just  as  insistent  is  the  call  for  men  and  means  for  the 
VIRGIN  ISLANDS.  Now  that  the  war  is  over,  the 
Danish  Pastors  and  Deaconesses,  who  so  generously  re¬ 
mained  that  the  Board  might  have  time  to  secure  laborers, 
desire  to  return  to  Denmark.  Here  our  opportunity  is 
not  that  of  a  mission  field  in  as  much  as  the  work  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  dating  from  1672,  has  resulted  in  es¬ 
tablished  congregations  with  large  Inner  Mission  activ¬ 
ities  comprising  Homes  for  the  Aged,  for  Sick  and  Neg¬ 
lected  Babies,  for  Orphans,  for  Deaconesses,  and  for 
Young  Girls,  but  everything  supported  by  the  Danish 
Government  or  Danish  Missionary  Societies,  and  which 
now  must  be  cared  for  by  the  Church  in  America  until 
the  people  have  been  trained  in  the  ways  of  the  Church 
freed  from  State  control,  and  are  prepared  for  self-gov¬ 
ernment  and  self-support.  Pray  the  Lord  of  the  harvest 
that  He  would  raise  up  laborers  for  this  field,  and  inspire 
His  people  to  make  liberal  gifts  which  will  enable  the 
United  Lutheran  Church  to  enter  this  door  of  oppor¬ 
tunity  opened  in  the  Virgin  Islands, 


OUR  DEACONESSES  IN  THE  VIRGIN  ISLANDS 


HOME  OF  A  COUNTRY  PARISHIONER 

OUR  MISSIONARIES  IN  PORTO  RICO.  The 
senior  missionary  has  been  on  the  field  for  fourteen  years, 
and  it  is  largely  due  to  the  heroic  labors  of  Rev.  Alfred 
Ostrom  and  his  devoted  wife  that  our  Church  has  ob¬ 
tained  such  substantial  success.  The  latest  addition  to 
the  working  force  is  the  Rev.  Fred  W.  Lindke,  who  with 
his  wife  and  Miss  Emma  R.  Schmid,  Miss  Sofia  Probst, 
and  Miss  Nanca  Schoen  constitute  the  present  missionary 
staff  from  America  that  labors  so  patiently  and  zealously 
to  enlarge  the  borders  of  our  Lutheran  Zion.  In  addi¬ 
tion,  we  have  a  force  of  native  helpers,  six  men  and  four 
women. 

PROPERTY  IN  PORTO  RICO.  As  a  result  of  the 
self-sacrificing  labors  of  the  missionaries,  we  have  today 
nine  congregations  and  13  mission  stations,  with  a  com¬ 
municant  membership  of  580;  22  Sunday  Schools,  with 
an  enrollment  of  1800  pupils;  6  Luther  Leagues,  and  one 
Kindergarten.  The  property  is  valued  at  $50,000,  and 
consists  of  six  chureh  buildings  with  their  furnishings,  a 
school  house,  a  cottage  and  a  parsonage.  In  addition  to 
the  ground  on  which  these  buildings  are  erected,  four 
other  lots  are  owned  and  await  developments. 

The  WORKING  FORCE  IN  THE  VIRGIN 
ISLANDS.  Outside  of  the  Pastors  and  Deaconesses 
from  the  State  Church  who  remained  temporarily,  we 
have  but  one  man  from  the  States,  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Peder¬ 
sen,  who  in  the  few  months  he  has  been  on  the  field 
has  done  excellent  work.  The  former  Provost,  Arch- 
Deacon  Hellweg-Larsen,  left  on  April  1,  1919,  and 
Field  Secretary  G.  H.  Hemsath  will  take  temporary 
charge  of  the  congregation.  Rev.  Mr.  Kastrup,  who  has 
most  acceptably  supplied  the  congregation  in  St.  Thomas, 
is  anxious  to  resume  his  work  among  the  delinquent  boys 
of  the  island.  There  are  four  deaconesses  on  the  field, 
but  two  return  to  Denmark  Easter,  1919.  There  are 
besides,  four  lay  readers,  one  parish  nurse,  and  several 
paid  helpers. 

PROPERTY  IN  THE  VIRGIN  ISLANDS.  The 
value  of  the  five  Church  buildings,  the  parsonages,  mis¬ 
sion  houses  and  homes,  amounts  at  a  conservative  esti¬ 
mate  to  no  less  than  $200,000.  The  communicant  mem¬ 
bership  numbers  3000,  and  700  children  are  in  the  Bible 
Schools. 


) 

SPANISH  LUTHERAN  CHURCH,  BAYAMON, 
PORTO  RICO 


OUR  NEEDS 

For  Porto  Rico  we  need  at  once  another  ordained  min¬ 
ister  to  relieve  our  overworked  missionaries  and  to  assist 
in  seizing  the  opportunity  that  has  opened  in  San 
Domingo  and  Cuba.  We  need  an  ordained  man  for  the 
Virgin  Islands,  who,  unlike  the  man  for  Porto  Rico, 
who  must  know  Spanish,  will  be  able  to  succeed  without 
knowing  any  other  language  than  English.  We  need  the 
generous  gifts  of  consecrated  people  who  will  add  their 
prayers  to  their  donations  as  they  send  them  to  our 
Treasurer,  Mr.  S.  F.  Telleen,  care  of  the  Chase  National 
Bank,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

The  West  Indies  Mission  Board  of  the  United  Lutheran 
Church  in  America  is  composed  of  the  following  mem¬ 
bers:  President,  Rev.  W.  D.  C.  Keiter,  D.D.;  Vice- 
President,  Rev.  H.  W.  A.  Hanson,  D.D. ;  Secretary,  Mr. 
H.  F.  Heuer;  Treasurer,  Mr.  S.  F.  Telleen;  Executive 
Secretary,  Rev.  Zenan  M.  Corbe;  Rev.  E.  Belfour,  D.D., 
Mr.  F.  A.  Burkhardt,  Rev.  F.  B.  Clausen,  Mr.  A.  H.  Dur- 
burrow,  Rev.  W.  J.  Finck,  D.D.,  Rev.  C.  A.  Freed,  D.D.. 
Rev.  F.  F.  Fry,  D.D.,  Mr.  Chas.  W.  Fuhr,  Mr.  R.  E. 
Gaskell,  Rev.  B.  F.  Hankey,  Mr.  J.  D.  Heilig,  Rev.  A.  J. 
Ho!!,  Rev.  Wm.  M.  Horn,  Mr.  J.  B.  Kaereher,  Rev.  John 
H.  Meyer,  Mr.  Wm.  Steinmeyer.  Advisory  members: 
Rev.  Morten  Parson,  Mr.  H,  A.  Johnson,  Rev.  J.  A. 
Bernhard. 


PRIMITIVE  MERCHANTS 


LOOKING  FOR  THE  MISSIONARY 


SUNDAY  SCHOOL  RECRUITS 


IN  THE  MAKING 


